Hey guys,

Need some feedback on the Academy M966 Tow Missle Humvee that im currently working on at the moment. Im actually working on this set as a "practice run" before working on the M1046 by Tamiya.

This is still work in progress obviously and still have quite a few things to do before completion. The model looks glossy as ive just airbrushed X-22 Clear coat to seal the underlying coats. Following this, i still have the following to do:

Will do the following:
1) Pin Wash using artist oil burnt umber mixed with turp.
2) Dry Brush over the wash using the same colour as the base coat to blend it in. Further dry brushing to highlight the bolts etc.
3) More dry brushing using Buff to weather the chasis
4) Paint the side mirrors
5) Seal the model with a layer of flat clear.

Cant decide if i should do the following:
1) Flick some pigment powder mixed with thinner onto the sides to simulate mud splatter

Here are some photos of whats been done so far. Would be great if you could point out any clear inconsistencies if you spot any.



The side mirrors that came with the kit were altered to have the new style mirrors.


Here's another crack at painting figures and their faces. This guy will be mounted on the roof behind the Tow Launcher.



p/s: Have a couple more photos in my gallery so take a look if you need a closer look.

Fire away boys!

Hi Jeremy,
don't forget to modify the top hatch as Italeri totally missed it.
You can detail the interior thanks to Verlinden warchines booklet or anything elsee you could have.

I did one myself well before Tamiya kit hit the shelves. I'll post pics if I find them back.

Anyway good job so far

olivier

Hi again,
I finally found some pics.

Here is one of the TOW mount



i think it was one of my very first scratch mods. Not a marvel, I must agree :-) but more accurate than Italeri's.

olivier

Looks pretty good. Few ponters for you.

The speaker boxes and TOW tripod should be dark green, not sand. Gunner's platform would be sand as well, not black. Rear reflectors and marker lights on the sides look amber, they should be red. Only the front ones are amber. Might want to try and get a hold of the Pro Art SINCGARS radios as well. The kit radio is an A/N VRC-160 (vehicle mount PRC-77), which was phased out in the early to mid-'90s and replaced by SINCGARS. I don't think anyone still uses the older radios.

For the figures, I would make the boots a slightly darker shade of tan/sand. I use MM Armor Sand for the boots. T-shirts underneath their uniform shirt (small V at neckline) should be a OD brown color, not sand. If you have some extra Kevlar helmets, I would put them on the figures. You very rarely see Soldiers ina HMMWV with softcaps and boonie caps. Also, If they are depicting Soldiers in OIF, they need IBA vests on.

Pretty good start. Few tweaks and corrections and it will be on its way to being a great piece. Good job.

Thanks for that olivier. The kit i have is actually by Academy so the Tow Launcher was quite accurate minus a few connectors here and there. I forgot to take a photo of it as it was drying up from some of the putty i have placed on it. The one i have has both the thermal and optical sights on. Compared this with the one in Robs Motor pool and seemed close enough.

Pity this kit didnt come with brush guards as i would have loved to mount that on.




Thanks for that Gino. I did try to look for one but it proved too costly once i purchase them online from either BlastModels or Pro Art themselves. Shame cause i was keen for other stowage equipment which were mounted outside the hummer.




Just out of curiousity, is it against regulation to wear bonnie caps and the likes while driving?

Cheers for the rest of the tips, i shall be making those changes when i get home from work tonight.

On most stateside posts it is. You can sometimes wear them just driving around post, but if you go off of approved, paved roads, you have to wear your helmet. There is also something called the light-line. Beyond it you use blackout drive and turn your headlights off, past the light-line are trhe training areas. You are required to wear your helmet past the light-line. In combat, you are required to wear your helmet at all times.

Cheers for that Gino. Will be making that change when i get back as well. I think the kit only has one more kevlar helmet left. Will search through my old kits for more. I find the Academy figures somewhat larger than the tamiya ones.

If anyone else has comments / suggestions, please do feel free to add them.